Saturday, 18 May 2013

Fitzrovia Local Issues

Image: freedigitalphotos

The Camden Council resorted to the cutting of a tree that was growing on the junction of Cleveland Street and Warren Street to protect a building from getting damaged by the tree roots. Residents living in this area have become angry over the cutting of the tree in that it was healthy and they didn't see the need for the tree to be cut.

The cutting did not come from nowhere as during the month of March, the council posted a note on the tree stating that the tree had to be cut down due to the threat it was posing to the building. A few weeks later during the month of April, the tree was cut down much to the uproar of the residents. The Camden Council however reassured the residents that they would plant a tree with a simpler root system to replace the one they had cut.

It is now being said that had the tree been allowed to continue growing and damaged the building, it would have given the building owners reason to apply for an insurance claim and this why it was cut down. The anger of the residents prompted the local councilor to get involved in the matter and he again repeated that the tree was cut to make sure that it did not damage the building and that another one with a simpler root structure would be planted in its place. The Camden Council never cuts trees unless they pose a danger to the residents, or they begin to die or pose a threat to the stability of buildings.

In another brewing issue, there is strife over the naming of the Former Middlesex hospital. The renaming was made necessary by the development that is taking place in Fitzrovia and two local authorities have said that the new proposed name cannot be accepted. The new name, Fitzroy Place, has been refused and chances are that the owners will be given until September 2014 to have come up with a new name as that is the time the development is expected to be completed.

Three bodies namely Kaupthing, Aviva Investments and the consortium of Exemplar have applied for the hospital to be called Fitzroy Place which matches the name the development is under. However, the Postal Authorities and the emergency services have said that the name cannot be adopted as it will lead to confusion as there are other nearby streets and buildings that have the same name.

On their side, the owners argue that adopting that name will give Fitzrovia heritage and stature and please the residents. They add that it matches with Fitzrovia Square and more to that, the name is accepted linguistically and culturally by all the targeted people and this is why the area is being referenced with the area. The Westminster Council has reported that after consulting the Postal Authority and emergency services, they said that the selected name has been used elsewhere in the borough and in nearby streets and buildings.

This has forced the Council of Westminster to resort to hold consultations with the residents in an effort to get their views on the suggested name and to give names that they think will be good enough. At the end of the day, the owners have a responsibility to come with a name that will be acceptable by making sure that they meet all the laid down stipulations.

The council stipulations are very simple in that all that the owners have to meet in the name is that it must have historical link with the area, be easily pronounced and not have been used elsewhere within the borough.